Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[10] For more information pertaining to King's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[11]

National security

American response to Syria

King said on August 26, 2013, that President Barack Obama as commander in chief “has the right to take” military action in Syria without congressional authorization.[12]

“Let me make it clear: I believe the president can take this action without authorization from the Congress, I believe he has, as commander in chief, he has the right to take this action,” King said. “It’s in his interest to consult with the leadership in the House and Senate, but I don’t believe he has to.”[12]

King, who said he has not been contacted by the White House on the issue, said the United States must now act in Syria.[12]

“Allies in the region, adversaries in the region, are going to look so we have to take action,” he said. “I believe that cruise missiles would be the best at this stage both as far as destroying the chemical weapons locations and also, as far as taking out command and control locations. But having said that, I am still not a big advocate for the rebels because I believe that in the last year or so they’ve become largely controlled or significantly controlled by Al Qaeda elements. If the president had taken action two years ago, we would be a lot better off.” The congressman added that “right now, I would not put American lives at risk.”[12]

“Especially after what Secretary Kerry said, we have to act,” he said. “I’m not certain where this is going to lead, but once that red line has been crossed, once chemical weapons have been used, I believe the president has to take action.”[12]

King noted “the president should not have set a red line unless he knew what he was going to do,” but “having drawn that red line we have no choice, I feel now, to take firm, strong action.”[12]

Criticism of Rand Paul

Peter King (R-NY) speaking about Rand Paul in an interview on CNN on August 1, 2013.

“When you have Rand Paul actually comparing (NSA leaker Edward) Snowden to Martin Luther King or Henry David Thoreau, this is madness,” King said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is the anti-war, left-wing Democrats of the 1960s that nominated George McGovern and destroyed their party for almost 20 years. I don’t want that to happen to our party."[13]

King also said it was “disturbing” that 94 of the 234 HouseRepublicans voted for a measure that would have defunded the National Security Agency’s phone record collection program.[13]

King, the former House homeland security committee chairman, has suggested he might run for president in 2016, if for no other reason than to be a voice in opposition to Paul’s foreign policy views.[13]

“Aid to Egypt has nothing to do with aid to Long Island, or New Jersey. They’re two separate issues and he should know the difference between Egypt, Long Island and New York … Sen.Paul claims to be a great friend of Israel but yesterday the ambassador to Israel … said that continuing American aid to Egypt is essential to maintain the peace process and maintain the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement that was negotiated under President Carter over 30 years ago,” King said in an interview. “So it’s very easy to say ‘cut this, cut that,’ you can have an intelligence debate about it, but so far he hasn’t shown very much intelligence.”[14]

King also argued Rand Paul and his libertarian-leaning views on foreign policy were making "America the enemy."[15] "He wants to retreat from the world. He wants to isolate ourselves, go back to a fortress America. The Republicans had this debate back in the 1930s, when you had the isolationist and the Charles Lindberghs, and the Democrats had it in the 1960s when the anti-war movement blamed America first. In both cases it hurt the party for years," King said in an interview on CNN on August 1, 2013.[15]

NDAA

King supported HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[16]

DHS Appropriations

King supported HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[16]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

King opposed House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[16]

CISPA (2013)

King supported HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[17] The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[16]

Economy

To Ted Cruz: "Keep Quiet"

In response to Sen. Ted Cruz's effort to force a government shutdown over Obamacare, King publicly chastised Cruz for trying to influence the House. King continued:

"We are going to lose this. It’s a wing within our party led by people like Ted Cruz who have been, as far as I’m concerned, carrying out a fraud with the people…They know it’s not going to win."[18]

King expressed concern about some of Cruz's supporters who have been calling King's office to lodge complaints. He told MSNBC, "The vehemence of the phone calls coming into the office. I don’t care, people can call me whatever they want … I haven’t heard such vile, profane, obscene language." He added, "I’m not saying Ted Cruz is responsible for all his supporters, but he has tapped into a dark strain here in the American political psyche here, and again, the most obscene, profane stuff you can imagine all from people who say they support the Constitution. I think what we have to do is reach out to his people and let them know that they’re following a false leader here."[19]

In an interview with Politico, King explained his frustration with his Republican colleagues that are supporting the shutdown. He said, "I don’t consider these guys conservatives. I think the party is going in an isolationist trend. It’s appealing to the lowest common denominator in many ways. And this whole threat of defunding the government, to me, is not conservative at all."[20]

George Clooney applauds King's efforts

George Clooney on October 1, 2013, applauded King as one of the "guys on the right," saying he's trying to get the government back up and running.[21]

Clooney said, "I know for a fact that there's a lot of guys on the right, Peter King, for instance, and some people like that, who are also doing the best they can to stop this from happening or to put an end to it...You just hope that it happens soon."[21]

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[24] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[25] King voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[26]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[27] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. King voted for HR 2775.[28]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

King supported House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[29] The vote largely followed party lines.[30]

Healthcare

Repealing Obamacare

King supported all attempts to repeal or delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[31]

Social issues

Abortion

King supported HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[32]

Sandy aid

King remained bitter over opposition from fellow Republicans over Hurricane Sandy aid. He told Politico, "politicians walk around with their arms around each other saying how much they love their colleague, like guys always did to me until they screwed me on Sandy." The same guys didn't hesitate to seek disaster relief in their own states.[20]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

King voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[33]

Leadership style

According to Marty Meehan, a former Democratic congressman, "Peter’s perspective, given his background, given the fact that he’s from Long Island and New York — a Reagan Democrat is how I’d describe him — means he’s right a lot more often than he’s wrong in terms of the trend for Republicans."[20]

According to Democratic Senator Charlie Rangel, King acts as his own person, regardless of party affiliation. He said, "Oh, Peter’s an old Irishman. If he was in our party, he would be doing the same thing — terribly independent and honest and sincere."[20]

Campaign themes

2012

"Pete King strongly supports the PATRIOT Act, wiretapping foreign terrorists and allowing the CIA to carry out tough interrogations of foreign terrorists. Pete has fought hard to increase Homeland Security funding for police and firefighters in New York City and on Long Island. During his time as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Pete was responsible for the passage of historic legislation regarding port security, chemical plant security and restructuring the nation’s emergency response system. As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, Pete opposed President Obama’s decision to close Guantánamo and restrict interrogations of terrorists. As Chairman he will hold hearings on Muslim radicalization.

Congressman King has fought for greater homeland security funding for fire departments throughout our district. Pete proudly serves as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Fire Caucus.

Pete King was a leader in passing the Zadroga 9/11 Healthcare bill (HR 847) on behalf of rescue workers and others who were at Ground Zero and have become seriously ill from the toxins which they inhaled during the recovery effort and in the days and weeks following the attacks.

As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee Pete King works closely with the NYPD and the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments. Congressman King has obtained millions of dollars in Homeland Security funds for these departments.

Congressman King knows that we must secure our borders and stop illegal immigration. Pete sponsored the law to construct a 700 mile fence along the border with Mexico and supports hiring thousands more border patrol agents, utilizing the most advanced military technology and equipment at the border and imposing heavy fines and prison sentences for companies that hire illegal immigrants. Pete opposes amnesty for the illegal immigrants living in our country.

Congressman King is a strong supporter of preserving Social Security and providing expanded prescription drug coverage for senior citizens. Pete also supports legislation to make elder abuse a federal crime so that we can protect the hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans who are exploited, abused or neglected each year. Pete would also require background checks for health care workers and setting up data bases for elder abuse, similar to the registries we now have for child abuse.

Congressman King has always been a strong supporter of our Armed Forces. Pete has traveled to battle zones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia to meet with our troops and has consistently voted to improve their pay and benefits. He has been a leader in the fight to support our returning troops by sponsoring The Returning Soldiers Bill of Rights Act and bringing veterans benefits into the 21st century.

Pete King has been a dedicated and effective leader in the war against breast cancer throughout his years in Congress. Pete has supported legislation to increase Medicare reimbursements for screening and diagnostic mammographies; fund research centers to study the relationship between the environment and breast cancer; and require insurance companies to guarantee at least 48 hours hospital care after a mastectomy."

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Peter King, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Howard Kudler (D) in the general election.[38]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

70.9%

131,674

Democratic

Howard Kudler

27.6%

51,346

N/A

Blank/Scattered

1.5%

2,748

Total Votes

185,768

2008

On November 4, 2008, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Graham Long (D) in the general election.[39]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

53.9%

172,774

Democratic

Graham Long

30.4%

97,525

N/A

Blank/Scattered

15.6%

50,038

Total Votes

320,337

2006

On November 7, 2006, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David Meijas in the general election.[40]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

52.8%

101,787

Democratic

David Meijas

41.4%

79,843

N/A

Blank/Scattered

5.9%

11,289

Total Votes

192,919

2004

On November 2, 2004, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Blair Mathies (D) in the general election.[41]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

54.2%

171,259

Democratic

Blair Mathies

31.9%

100,737

N/A

Blank/Scattered

14%

44,129

Total Votes

316,125

2002

On November 5, 2002, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Stuart Finz (D) and Janeen DePrima (Liberal) in the general election.[42]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

65.1%

121,537

Democratic

Stuart Finz

24.7%

46,022

Liberal

Janeen DePrima

0.8%

1,513

N/A

Blank/Scattered

9.4%

17,550

Total Votes

186,622

2000

On November 7, 2000, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dal Lamagana (D) and Selma Olchin (L) in the general election.[43]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

51%

143,126

Democratic

Dal Lamagana

34.2%

95,787

Libertarian

Selma Olchin

0.5%

1,515

N/A

Blank/Scattered

14.3%

40,049

Total Votes

280,477

1998

On November 3, 1998, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Kevin Langberg (D) and Thomas Di Lavore (Liberal) in the general election.[44]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

57.5%

117,258

Democratic

Kevin Langberg

31.2%

63,628

Liberal

Thomas Di Lavore

0.7%

1,497

N/A

Blank/Scattered

10.6%

21,609

Total Votes

203,992

1996

On November 5, 1996, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dal A. Lamagna (D), John A . De Prima (Liberal) and John J. O'Shea (Right to Life) in the general election.[45]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

46.7%

111,310

Democratic

Del A. Lamagna

39.1%

93,145

Liberal

John A. De Prima

0.8%

1,807

Right to Life

John J. O'Shea

1.7%

4,129

N/A

Blank/Scattered

11.7%

27,983

Total Votes

238,374

1994

On November 8, 1994, Peter King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Norma Grill (D) and John A. DePrima (Liberal) in the general election.[46]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 1994

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter Kingincumbent

48.8%

98,628

Democratic

Norma Grill

38.5%

77,774

Liberal

John A. De Prima

0.8%

1,522

N/A

Blank/Scattered

12%

24,240

Total Votes

202,164

1992

On November 3, 1992, Peter King won election to the United States House. He defeated Steve A. Orlins, Louis P. Roccanova (Right to Life) and Ben Zion J. Heyman (Liberal) in the general election.[47]

U.S. House, New York District 3 General Election, 1992

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Peter King

42.5%

124,727

Democratic

Steve A. Orlins

39.8%

116,915

Right to Life

Louis P. Roccanova

2.3%

6,888

Liberal

Ben Zion J. Heyman

1.1%

3,092

N/A

Blank/Scattered

14.3%

42,017

Total Votes

293,639

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for King is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, King raised a total of $8,143,432 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 23, 2013.[48]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, King missed 340 of 13,533 roll call votes from Jan 1993 to Apr 2013, which is 2.5% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[62]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. King paid his congressional staff a total of $796,251 in 2011. Overall, New York ranked 28th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[63]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, King was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. King's staff was given an apparent $28,985.16 in bonus money.[64]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, King's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $150,003 to $300,000. That averages to $225,001, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 42.40% from 2010.[65]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, King's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $101,003 to $215,000. Averaging to a net worth of $158,001.50 which was lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.[66]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. King tied with two other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 222nd in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[67]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. King tied with one other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, ranking 217th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. House.[68]

Voting with party

June 2013

Peter King voted with the Republican Party Cool of the time, which ranked 228 among the 234 House Republican members as of June 2013.[69]

Personal

King and his wife, Rosemary, reside in Seaford, New York. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.[70]

Recent news

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